Leaves of Life
by takemewithyou
Summary: Going through highschool and having to deal with your parents' possile divorce is never easy, not even for Uchiha Itachi. But solace comes in the strangest of forms. Even in the new girl you thought you hated. AU ItachixOc
1. First Impressions

**a/n**

**Story notes:**

***Italicized phrases are thoughts**

**Disclaimer:**

***I do not own Ketsueki. She is a figment of my good friend's amazing imagination. XD All credit for Ketsueki belongs to the author "JashinnDamnit". **

* * *

The leaves of Konohagakure were changing color again.

All around the city, the trees blazed with autumn colors. From scarlet reds to shimmering golds, the little leaves dropped one by one off their trees; only to be carried off by the wind to wherever it desired.

"It's a nice day isn't it Itachi?" said a young Mikoto Uchiha to her eldest son.

Itachi merely nodded his head in agreement, his head swimming with thoughts of his own.

Mikoto sighed gently.

Itachi was ridiculously hard to get through to.

Mikoto tried to remember a time when Itachi hadn't behaved this way. Hadn't behaved so quiet and unfeeling.

But hard as she tried, the image of a silent lonely boy always came to mind. Ever since childhood Itachi had always been a bit...different.

Since childhood Itachi had always preferred books and solitude to toys and friends. Whenever the young mother would try to arrange playdates for her little boy, they always ended the same way. Itachi sat in the corner by himself while the other children cheerfully played amongst themselves, paying no heed to the quiet black haired boy.

Funny thing was, Itachi seemed to like it that way.

But even if he was silent and anti-social, even though it pained her to see him so emotionless, Mikoto still loved her son. She always did her best to milk some sort of conversation or emotion out of him whenever she could.

"Are you excited about tomorrow," she tried again. "Do you think you'll make any new friends?"

Itachi gave her a strange look.

_"Do you think you'll make any new friends?"_

"I suppose," Itachi said to make his mother happy.

She smiled with success.

"Good, I'm glad to see you're thinking positive," Mikoto said cheerfully.

They were silent for a moment as they sat together on the porch on the front of the house. The porch, along with the patio it was seated on, was white, contrasting beautifully with the soft creamy brown of the two story house they owned.

A cool breeze swept through the streets and tussled their ebony hair. Proving just how closely mother and son resembled each other.

Without thinking, Mikoto let her eyes wander down the street for the umpteenth time.

They landed on the house at the end of the block.

It was simple and white and also had two stories.

The house also had a "For Sale" sign posted on the green grass of the front yard. Written across the sign in big bold letters was the word: SOLD.

"You know Itachi, I hear the man that moved in down the street has a pretty daughter about your age," Mikoto started again, a sly smile on her face.

Itachi continued staring ahead, catching on to what she was thinking.

"Maybe the two of you could _get to know each other,_" she said playfully.

Itachi lost control of his stoic facial expression and turned to give his mother an incredulous stare.

Mikoto laughed softly and rose from her spot on the porch to stand near her son.

The silence returned soon after.

Mikoto let out a small sigh and took in the sight of her son.

_"Always so quiet..." _she thought to herself with just a hint of worry.

"Is something wrong mother?" Itachi asked suddenly, noticing his mother's gaze.

"Oh! It's nothing love." she laughed gently, running her hand through his long hair. "You're just growing up so fast." she smiled.

Before she turned to leave, she gave Itachi a soft peck on the side of his forehead, leaving him slightly annoyed.

"I'm going to go start supper. Are you coming inside?" she asked nicely.

"I'll stay out here for a while longer," Itachi replied indifferently.

"Alright then, I'll call Sasuke out here to keep you company."

A vein in Itachi's forehead twitched.

He knew his mother meant well. But sometimes...

Itachi watched his mother's figure disapear through the front door of the house.

He sighed. He wasn't excited about returning to school, but he wasn't nervous either. To him, school was just a small task that had to be completed every year.

A simple talent among many others.

Itachi noticed the leaves begin to twirl around as the breeze picked up again.

As he watched them dance around, face blank and mind a blur, a small part of him wondered what it would be like to join them.

But he gave it not another thought as he watched the leaves disappear just as soon as they fell from the brightly colored trees.

Itachi's eyes wandered the familiar streets of his neighborhood as he contemplated the pool of thoughts that always seemed to plague him.

For some reason or another, they fell upon the same white house his mother had mentioned earlier.

He rolled his eyes and got up to go inside.

As for the girl that moved in down the street, Itachi couldn't care less about what she looked like or if she would be attending the same school.

Girls were a mere distraction among many others.

* * *

"So do you like it here so far?" a dark skinned boy of about eighteen asked his sister from his place on the carpet.

"We just moved here stupid. How should I know if I like it here or not," came her reply as she slowly unpacked what looked like a large mass of newspapers from a cardboard box.

"_Pi-sy. _I can't believe you're _still_ upset that we moved." the boy joked.

"I can't believe that you're _not_ upset that we moved," the girl replied, ever so carefully fussing with the small package of newspapers.

"A change of scenery is good once in a while," continued the boy. "Besides, it was all crime scenes and police sirens back in Kumo'... Nothing but drama..." he finished shaking his head.

The boy hesitated for a moment, pondering what to say next.

"...Plus I hear the girls are really pretty here." he said in a dreamy voice.

His sister began laughing whole heartedly.

Her brother always knew exactly what to say to cheer her up.

She continued to meticulously unwrap the newspapers, and eventually revieled a small black radio. Gently, almost ceremonially, the young girl placed it down on an otherwise bare nightstand.

Her most precious possession.

"Geez Hitori, it's not made of glass you know," her brother laughed softly as he watched her. "But I sure did a good job picking out your birthday present this time." he pridefully puffed out his chest in a playful manner.

Hitori went sick with giggles again.

She brushed a maple-brown strand of hair from her face as she continued to unpack. The room the siblings occupied was Hitori's; plain and simple with cream colored walls and a balcony overlooking their new backyard.

The two siblings continued to chat and unpack when they suddenly heard a loud crash from downstairs!

An ominous hush fell upon brother and sister, the pupils in their deep brown eyes becoming smaller with fearful anticipation.

"HITORI!! Get down here!!" a loud piercing voice disrupted the cheery atmosphere.

Hitori and her brother were very still.

She looked at her brother.

"What do you think he wants Tai?" Hitori asked her brother, the slightest hint of fear in her voice.

"I don't know. I don't think...he's been in a better mood than usual since we moved. You'll be okay." Tai reassured his sister, placing a loving hand on her shoulder.

"I hope so..." Hitori whispered in prayer.

She opened the door of her room and solomnly headed down the stairs to confront her father.

* * *

"History, Math Analysis, English, Biology...Neh, what does your schedule say Itachi?" a large blue skinned teen asked his friend.

The two boys traded schedules, the larger of the two eagerly skanned the half sheet of paper, mumbling as he read.

"How the hell did you end up with Calculus?!" shouted the giant boy Itachi knew as Kisame.

The two had been best friends since junior high school, and though the two seemed an odd pair-Kisame the giant wise-cracking teen and Itachi the stoic and studious one-Kisame was one of the few people Itachi could ever be seen socializing with.

"Hm, math analysis? You're getting there." Itachi commented on his friend's math class.

Kisame smirked and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah..."

Subtle as it was, this was the closest the impassive Uchiha ever came to "joking around".

"Hey, I didn't know you were taking psychology as one of your electives." Kisame commented with a suprised air.

"...Yeah, I didn't want to take physics quite yet..." Itachi replied quietly.

"Does your dad know about that?" Kisame questioned with a concerned look.

"Not yet..."

Silence fell upon the Uchiha and Kisame understood at once that a change of subject was necessary.

"Boy I can't wait for swim season to start again." Kisame stated enthusiastically as he handed Itachi back his schedule.

The two boys began strolling down one of their high school's many hallways and Itachi appeared to appreciate the diversion.

"You performed quite well as last year's swim captain. Are you aiming for that position again this year?"

"Without a doubt! I dare you to find a human alive that can swim faster than Kisame Hoshigaki." Kisame gloated slightly puffing out his chest in a playful manner.

"Cocky as always." Itachi smirked as the boys continued their walk through the school hallways.

Nearly every wall they passed was overflowing with colorfully vibrant "Welcome Back" and "Dream to Achieve" posters. Occasionally they would pass by a lonely balloon or two. Everywhere kids could be seen reuniting with each other after their long summer vacations; rabidly comparing their schedules together to see who got what class and if they had the same lunch period together.

"I think they went overboard with the decorations even more than last year." Kisame commented while bashing a shiny red balloon out of his way.

"This school always over-reacts when it comes to 'speacial occasions'." Itachi said impassively.

"I'll say. Hey did you hear? Some new kids just moved here from Kumogakure. You know the "ghetto-ville"? They're supposed to be coming to this high school."

"Remind me again why we care." Itachi replied, almost snidely. Not bothering to make the connection from the 'new kids' to the people who had just moved in down the block from his house.

"Well-"

**BRRIIING!!**

"There's the bell. Guess we better get going."

Itachi nodded in agreement.

The two teens headed off in different directions towards their first class of their sophomore year. Itachi somewhat quickened his pace as he made his way to his first class of the day.

There was a certain someone he always hoped to avoid, especially when the beginning of the new school year came around.

* * *

"It's this way."

"No I think it's this way."

"Are you sure?"

"Course I'm sure. I saw a sign and everything!"

"Well you're not exactly good with directions." Tai said in a gentle tone.

Hitori glared at her brother.

"Fine. We'll take your way."

The two siblings rounded a hallway corner and came face-to-face with the Student Services Window.

Tai gave his sister a triumphant grin.

Hitori rolled her eyes.

"Well sorry for trying to help."

"Aw, don't be sad hun, maybe next time you'll get the directions right."

"Yeah, yeah, next time..." Hitori grumbled stepping up to the window.

After a...'minor consultation' with their father that morning, Hitori and Tai had been set back by at least ten minutes. They had left the house much later than intended, had trouble finding their new school, and had journeyed around at least half of the school's entire perimeter trying to find that damned Student Services Window.

Obviously, they were late for class.

Very, _**very**_, late for class.

Hitori sighed and swept a stray piece of hair from her face as a woman appeared at the window.

The woman looked pretty young and was more or less attractive. She had dark hair and matching eyes and also wore a name tag that read: "Miss Shizune".

She held a slightly shocked expression when she saw Hitori at the window. Carefully, she slid the window open.

"My, you're certainly late for class."

"Yeah," Hitori said with a bit of an embarresed look."Sorry about that my brother and me got...delayed. I get my schedule here right? I'm sort of new here."

"Yes, I'll print your schedule out right away." Miss Shizune said cheerfully. "Can I have your last name please?"

"Hatsuyume. H-A-T-S-U-Y-U-M-E."

Miss Shizune turned to a computer on her desk and proceeded to type in Hitori's name on the keyboard.

Hitori took a peek inside the office and was somewhat impressed at its neatness and clean appearance. This was definetly nothing like her old school.

"Here it is. Hitori Hatsuyume right?"

"Yup."

"Here you are." Miss Shizune said still smiling, handing Hitori a blue half sheet of paper, still warm from the heat of the printer.

"Thanks." Hitori replied stepping away from the window while her brother stepped up.

_"You have no idea what I had to go through to get you..." _Hitori thought as she glared at the schedule in her hand. _"Stupid little piece of paper."_

"So what's your first period?" Tai asked with his own schedule in hand, trying to read his sister's schedule over her shoulder.

"Ummm...looks like History...What lunch period do you have?"

"Second."

"...I've got first." Hitori said with a solemn air.

Their schedules didn't have a single thing in common.

"Well...we'll talk after school. Right now we're late as it is."

"Yeah all right..." Hitori said quietly.

She turned on her heel and headed for her History class which, according to her schedule, was hosted by someone called Ibiki sensei.

"Hey!"

Hitori turned to see her brother giving her a goofy grin and a thumbs up.

She broke into a smile and laughed. With renewed spirits, Hitori turned and continued on her way to her classroom.

* * *

"So Itachi, how was _your_ summer vacation?"

Itachi desperately tried to ignore the girl who, no matter what, always found a way to get what she wanted.

Haruno, Sakura was not your average everyday girl.

Her looks were far beyond that of normal.

Dazzling green eyes, perfectly manicured, polished nails (their color changed every week), and hair soo pink, it put the color of bubble gum to shame.

Due to the vast amounts of money her parents raked in every month and her general preppy outlook on life, Sakura had grown accostumed to getting _whatever _she wanted, _whenever _she wanted.

So when an attractive and talented boy like Itachi ignored her very presence, something inside of Sakura just snapped.

There was just that little annoyance that itched inside of her when Sakura discovered there was something that she could not have.

A tiny little annoyance that grew and grew every time Itachi refused to meet her stunning gaze.

Sure, Sakura could most likely have any boy in her grade level with the proper flirting strategies and outfit, heck the boys practically pooled at her feet they way girls did around Itachi.

To Sakura, it seemed only fitting that the most popular boy and girl in school be together as a couple.

"So," Sakura tried again, trying to flaunt as much cleavage as physically possible. "I'm having a homecoming party at my house next weekend..."

Itachi still didn't seem to notice her.

"...and I was wondering if you'd like to come. It's invitation **only** of course." she purred in his ear, slipping a beautifuly crafted invitation onto his desk.

Normally Itachi would have been inclined to snap at Sakura about how annoying she was, but, being the Uchiha he was, and having been brought up with the finnest manners imaginable, Itachi tried to remain as polite as his teenage hormones would possibly let him.

"Sorry," Itachi said almost through gritted teeth, "but I'm busy next week. I won't be able to make it." he slipped the invitation back onto Sakura's own desk.

"Oh, well, I can postphone the party to a time when you can make it-"

"Oh, no." Itachi said in a horribly fake sounding sympathetic voice. "I wouldn't want to trouble you."

To Itachi's dismay, a red headed boy snickered in the desk behind him.

"No really, it's okay, I-"

**BRRIIING!!**

"I've got to go." Itachi said quickly.

He got up and left without another word, feeling quite relieved. As he left he completely disregarded the forgotton invitation and Sakura herself altogether.

As he reached the classroom door, Itachi ran into the red headed boy who had snickered at him earlier.

Itachi glared at him; they walked out of the classroom together.

"Why so upset Itachi? She only wants you to come to her party." the red head said with a smirk.

"Shut-up Sasori."

* * *

"Huh..." Hitori sighed to herself.

First period had been a killer. Not only was History one of her least favorite subjects, but her teacher, Ibiki sensei, had to be worse than a drill sergeant.

_"How the hell was I supposed to know who the Third Hokage of Konohagakure was?! For crying out loud I've been living in Kumo' all my life!" _

Hitori bitterly reminessed about the pop quiz on the ancient history of Konohagakure Ibiki sensei had sprung on the students during the first five minutes of class.

She was completely confident that she had missed every single question on that quiz.

Hitori sighed again and looked down at her schedule, dodging random clusters of kids as she walked along the busy halls.

Period 2: English with Kakashi Hatake.

Hitori gave a huff and took another look at her schedule.

Room #451.

She scoped out the surrounding classrooms.

All of them were in the 200's range.

Hitori let out another aggrivated sigh and slumped her shoulders.

**BRRIIING!!**

The bell suddenly screamed throughout the halls but Hitori didn't scurry away to find her class like the rest of the kids in the halls did. She had already been late to one class, why not make it an even two?

Hitori dragged her feet on the pavement of the outdoor hallway, hardly bothering to lift her eyes from the ground to see if she was going in the right direction.

School was horrendously dull...

Suddenly Hitori felt an odd prescence and a hand on her shoulder.

She gasped and spun around, fists up and protecting her face; ready for the worst.

But instead of the perverted student Hitori had expected, she came face-to-face with a quite goofy looking man; most likely a school employee.

"Woah! Hey kid calm down! I'm not looking for any trouble," said the strange man trying to calm Hitori down.

Hitori lowered her fists but her look of suspiscion didn't disipate.

She took a few steps backward.

"Hey, hey, calm down," soothed the man. "I'm not going to hurt you. But I would like to know what you're doing out of class."

"Looking for where it is..." Hitori said in a quiet voice.

The strange man bursted into a silly grin.

"Is that what it is?" he asked chuckling. "I'm sure I can help you find your class. Here, let me see your schedule."

Hitori reluctantly handed the odd white haired man her slip of paper.

"Let's see...Room #451. That would be three halls to the right from this exact point."

"Oh, thanks..."

Hitori stretched out her hand to take back her schedule, but it seemed the weird man had other ideas.

"So, you're Hitori huh? That new transfer student from Kumogakure?"

"Yeah that's me."

The odd man smiled and laughed a little.

"That must be why you're having a hard time finding your class-"

"No offense mister, but don't you think I oughta be getting to class now."

"Aw, I wouldn't worry too much about that if I were you. According to your schedule you've got Kakashi for your English teacher. If he's anything like the guy I know you'll make it to class before he does. But you're right. I'll shut-up and let you go now."

"Thanks," Hitori said a little weirded out.

"I'm your counselor by the way," the man called out as Hitori began to walk away.

She payed her schedule a confused glance.

Student Counselor: Jiraiya.

Hitori shook her head.

It wasn't that she didn't like Jiraiya; when you live your entire life with an abusive parent, it gets a little hard to trust any adults...

Hitori paused in front of room #451. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

As she stepped inside the classroom, nobody seemed to notice her. Not even the teacher, who was, infact, present.

The majority of the students were already seated though, leaving very few options as to where to sit.

Hitori swiftly moved to the back of the room where she found two vacant seats.

"Oh, oh, oh!! Sit here! Sit here!"

Hitori turned to find a rather hyper boy wildly waving his hands at her, motioning for her to come and sit in the empty chair at his table.

The boy was actually pretty good looking, he had a certain young, sort of innocent quality about his face. He was also wearing one of the most peculiar looking shirts Hitori had ever seen.

Neon orange with spiraling black lines.

She turned away, hoping the poor boy wasn't zonked out on some sort of drug.

But as she turned she realized that her only other choice was to sit next to a pink haired girl.

Hitori's eyes widened.

Was her hair seriously pink? Hitori had never seen such a hair color before.

"What are _you _looking at?" the pink haired girl scoffed, giving Hitori a dirty look.

"Just your hair," Hitori replied, returning the nasty look.

The preppy pink haired girl instantly whipped out a compact mirror, finatically making sure that every hair was perfectly in place.

Hitori chose to sit next to the hyper kid. Hyper could be cute...right?

"HI!" the boy said cheerily.

"Uh, hi," Hitori greeted back.

"It's a good thing you sat here, Tobi is a good boy."

"Who's Tobi?" Hitori asked, utterly confused.

"This is Tobi," came a girl's voice from behind Tobi's figure.

"Hey," Hitori said to the girl on the opposite side of Tobi. "What was that again?"

"This," the girl said pointing to Tobi, "This is Tobi."

"Hi!" Tobi said again, waving at Hitori. "This is Ketsueki-chan! Say 'hi' Ketsueki."

"You'll learn to love him...eventually. Hey, I'm Ketsueki."

"I'm Hitori."

"You're the new kid huh."

"Yeah."

"I remember when I first moved here. Let me know if you need any help or something 'kay?"

"Gee, thanks," Hitori said appreciating the hospitality.

She couldn't begin to remember a time she had been treated as such, espeacially by a stranger.

"Alright class, settle down and begin working on the worksheet that is being passed out."

The voice of Kakashi sensei suddenly commanded the attention of the entire room.

Abruptly the boys in the class became silent and some of the girls even swooned.

Yes, swooned.

This was definetly different from Hitori's usual high school experience.

* * *

"Ahh, last period of the day. I thought it would never come," Kisame sighed.

He carelessly plopped his backpack onto the table where he sat next to Itachi.

"Biology should be a breeze. Then we can finally go home," the blue teen slumped comfortably in his seat.

"Don't get cocky. We have Orochimaru as our sensei."

Kisame's pupils seemed to get smaller as he recalled that minor detail.

Kisame noticed Itachi glancing around the classroom and instantly knew what was going through his friend's head.

"Yeah I feel ya Itachi, it would suck if we had Orochimaru _and _Sakura in the same class." Kisame chuckled. "Maybe if we purposely fail the class she'll stop following us."

A _small_ smile crept onto Itachi's face.

Kisame was excellent at providing comic relief for the high strung Uchiha. It was one of the things that made the two boys compatible friends.

At the classroom door Ketsueki and Hitori made their way inside.

"Thanks for all your help. I would've been a goner without you," Hitori thanked Ketsueki as she aggressively shoved one of the many crowding kids out of her way.

"Don't worry about it, I feel for you. I can really relate to what you're going through." she smiled.

_"Oh if only you knew..."_

"You know, you must be really special or something," Ketsueki said as she recieved a dirty look from the kid she'd shoved away.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, as you can probably tell," Ketsueki paused in her sentence to stick her tongue out at the girl who'd given her a dirty look. "I don't exactly take to people that easily."

"Yeah," Hitori smiled "I noticed."

Hitori and Ketsueki had taken a rather rare shine to each other within their english class. Hitori was delighted to learn that not only did she have quite a few personal things in common with Ketsueki, but a few classes as well. Hitori had been expecting to have a miserable first day of school but instead was overjoyed to have made a new friend. Now she wouldn't have to spend her days at school all alone.

Behind the boys the two girls situated themselves at a table, paying no heed to the popular boys in front of them.

"I hear this Orochimaru guy is supposed to be the teacher of all teachers, a real psycho," Ketsueki confided in Hitori.

"You mean like that Sakura girl?"

Both girls laughed wildly.

Ketsueki had filled Hitori in on all there was to know about Sakura Haruno.

Apparantly you didn't have to be her friend to know who she was. Hailing from a family of regionally acclaimed doctors and surgeons, Sakura was known around the village as the top paramedical trainee of the Land of Fire and around the school as a popular and stylish snob.

"Itachi, Itachi! There you are! I've been looking all over for you!"

Hitori and Ketsueki looked at each other.

"You left your invitation in first period."

Kisame gave Itachi a wink and failed to keep a straight face as he went wild with snickers.

"Thanks," Itachi forced himself to say.

Behind them, Hitori and Ketsueki were in stiches, snickering just as wildly as Kisame.

"Do the both of you have a **problem**?" Sakura jeered at the two girls.

"No, no. We would **never** come between you and your boyfriend Sakura," Hitori said, tearing with laughter.

"She's **not** my girlfriend," Itachi sneered at Hitori.

"Calm down lover boy, I never said she was your girlfriend."

Itachi glared at Hitori.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing? I didn't say you could speak to Itachi-kun-"

**"Silence!"** came a loud booming voice.

"Sakura Haruno, take a seat. Now."

Orochimaru-sensei had arrived.

"Yes sensei," she scurried away to find an available seat among her friends.

Hitori could only gawk at her new biology teacher.

He almost looked like an 'it'. Long dark hair grown down to his waist and golden eyes that glinted in the light with the venom of a villian. His complexion was almost as pale as snow itself and...was that a python on his shoulder?

"Good afternoon class," Orochimaru hissed smoothly, taking in the view of all his new students.

"I would just like to begin with telling those of you who think this class will be easy, simply because it occurs at the end of the day, are sadly mistaken."

He paused for a dramatic effect, and it worked.

The entire classroom was deathly silent.

There seemed to be something about him that bothered the students in the classroom. Something that wasn't...human.

"As you will soon find out, I tend to do things...differently than most teachers and students expect. I do not tolerate misbehavior of any kind and consequences, well, let's just say they're dire. Any questions?"

The class stared at him with wide eyes.

"Good," Orochimaru smiled wickedly. "Let's start the year with a pop quiz."

He picked up a large stack of papers and proceeded to distribute them throughout the classroom.

As he passed by the table Hitori and Ketsueki were seated at, the python on Orochimaru sensei's shoulder hissed at her and stared as if to say: _"You're dog meat..."_

Orochimaru smiled and said "Don't worry Miss Hatsuyume, he doesn't bite...hard."

Hitori shuddered and turned to her quiz sheet.

_"How __**the hell**__ did he know my name?"_

"Alright, each one of you has approximately nine minutes to complete this quiz. After the eloted time has passed, they will be collected and redistributed throughout the class to be graded. Understood?"

It was really more of a statement than a question.

"Yes Orochimaru sensei," the class chanted in unison.

"Begin!"

The class obeyed their orders and began their quizes.

Hitori slowly picked up her pencil, giving the quiz a sour look.

_"Alright...just do what Tai says. Try my best and if I have no clue what the answer is, pick the one in the middle."_

Hitori sighed and began reading over the first question.

Over on Itachi's table he was already more than halfway done with the quiz.

He recognized the material and saw the quiz as a simple review.

Question 10, Question 12, question 18, soon enough Itachi was finished and checked over his quiz with plenty of time to spare.

He silently tapped his fingers against the table as he waited for the time limit to expire.

"Pencils down! Pass your papers to the front!" Orochimaru's voice pierced the air like nails on a chalkboard.

Everyone sent their papers to the front of the room.

"How do you think you did?" Ketsueki asked Hitori.

"I'm pretty sure I failed."

"Oh..."

Itachi overheard the girls' conversation and rolled his eyes.

He was one hundred percent confident that he had gotten a perfect score.

As the papers were passed out among the class to be graded, Hitori could only marvel at the stroke of pure fate that had brought Itachi's paper to her seat.

It was only her first day of school in Konohagakure and Hitori already knew about Itachi's reputation as one of, if not the, smartest kid who attended the Highschool of the Land of Fire.

She could just imagine how arrogant he was, how much attention he drew, simply because he was smart.

Hitori didn't see what was so particularly special about intellect. Intellegence wasn't a trait that made you likable.

She sulked in her chair and prepared to grade Itachi's paper.

After Orochimaru went over the answers to the quiz, Hitori wrote 100 percent on Itachi's quiz.

As the students got up to exchange papers, Hitori leaned over and tapped Itachi on his shoulder to get his attention. He gave her somewhat of a dirty look before taking his paper from her.

Hitori glared at the back of Itachi's head.

"Your welcome..." she muttered inaudibly.

This was going to be a **long** school year, she could feel it in her gut.


	2. Overdose

Crash!

Crash!!

CRASH!!

Tiny fragments of glass soared through the air as a bottle of beer crashed onto the floor.

"You'd better run if you know what's good for you!!"

Hitori staggered to her feet and as quickly as she possibly could, fled from her father's harsh words and brutal hand.

Her father stood solo in the kitchen now, venomous pine-green eyes glareing over the mess of glass that glimmered on the floor, the sink of dirty dishes that were suppposed to be washed.

"Damn bitch..." he muttered before lighting up a cigarette and exiting the kitchen.

Now out of the hallway that led to the kitchen, Hitori bolted through the living room and darted up the stairs. Nearly hitting the wall, she fled into her brother's room, slamming and locking the door behind her.

She stood there panting, her hands pressed firmly against the door as if trying to prevent someone from coming in.

"What was it this time?" Tai asked with a blase' air from the corner of his room; peacefully doing his homework.

"Dishes," Hitori replied still panting. "I was about to do them, but I had homework, and then all the other stuff he told me to do."

"Bastard..." Tai trailed off. "He didn't do anything this time, right?" he ased finally looking up from his papers.

A smile played across Hitori's face.

The kind of smirk one wears when they've just accomplished something incredibly daring.

"Nope. Only got me once," she said, gesturing to the red mark that nearly covered the entire upper-half of her arm.

It was really more than just a red mark. But when you lived your life with an abusive father, a red spot that covered nearly half of your arm was something miraculously small. Surely the spot would bruise and turn at least purple by tomorrow, but Hitori saw the blemish as a pure stroke of good luck; only _one _beating.

"Let me see that." Tai said, setting his papers aside and getting up to take a look at his sister's arm.

Hitori lifted her arm up while her brother poked and examined it like any professional doctor would. Suddenly Tai disapeared into the back of his room, began rooting around in his closet, no doubt looking for something important.

_Medicine?... _Hitori thought incredulously. _But it's only just a red mark...He could've done worse..._

Sure enough, Tai emerged from the back of his room, carrying some sort of small container in his hand; sat himself down on his bed next to his sister and carefully opened the tiny box of medicine.

A feeling of warmth crept over Hitori as she watched her brother apply some sort of yellow waxy substance onto her arm.

No matter how small the injury was, whether it was a bruise or just a simple cut, Tai was always right there with some sort of antibiotic or ointment to "help her heal faster".

Hitori just knew that some day, her big brother would be one of the greatest doctors in the world.

Besides Hitori, the study of diseases and medicine was what Tai was most passionate about.

"It's just a red mark," Hitori said somewhat sheepishly. "Really, it'll be better tomorrow."

"Mmhm." Tai grunted, paying no attention to Hitori's protests.

She tried to protest (the medicine smelled weird anyway) but in the end, all Hitori could do was watch as her brother finished smearing the ointment over the red surface of her arm.

"There." Tai said with finality once the yellow substance completely covered Hitori's arm.

"Thanks..." Hitori trailed off.

Tai got up and resumed doing his homework in the corner of his room.

"So how was it today?" He asked referring to Hitori's first day at school.

"Stupid. School sucks no matter which one you go to."

Tai rolled his eyes playfully.

"Plus there's this really snotty brat I gotta sit behind in biology."

"_Really?_" Tai asked sounding completely fascinated.

"Yeah, everyone is in love with him because he's the smarest person in the school or something like that." Hitori spat.

Tai smiled and shook his head.

"And what's this brat's name?"

"I don't know, something, Uchiha."

"Uchiha, huh? That's a real famous name. I heard all the way back in Kumo' that the Uchiha family is really notorious for their work in the police force. Almost every one of their sons grows up to be a chief of police or even better. At least that's just what I heard."

"They don't sound so special to me." Hitori mumbled. "He seemed really mean..."

* * *

_A(2,-1), B(4,0), and C(3,4) are the coordinates of the vertices of a triangle. If this triangle is reflected over the x-axis and then rotated 90 degrees in a clockwise direction with the center of rotation at the origin, what are the coordinates of the vertices of the resulting image?_

Itachi busily completed the last question on his math homework just as his mother walked into the kitchen carrying several grocery bags.

"Hello dear." she said softly, tussling his hair as she walked by.

"Hello..." Itachi grumbled.

Quietly he got up to help his mother with the groceries, taking the bags from her hands and setting them on the kitchen counter.

"Thank you Itachi, I can take it from here."

Itachi nodded and resumed his homework.

The kitchen was silent for a few moments, save for the sound of Itachi's mother taking the groceries out of their plastic bags and putting them away.

Mikoto spared a few carrots and several other vegetables and began washing them thouroughly in the sink.

"So how was your day at school love?" Mikoto asked curiously.

"Fine."

"How did you like your teachers?"

"They were fine."

"Was the work difficult?"

"No."

"Hmm...Did you see Sakura-chan today?"

"Unfortunately." Itachi slipped.

"Itachi!! That's not polite and you know it!"

"...Sorry..." was all Itachi cared to reply.

"Honestly dear, I just don't see why you don't like Sakura," Mikoto said in a gentler tone. "She's really a very nice girl."

Itachi raised an eyebrow at his mother's words.

_"Nice girl?..."_

"If you say so mother..."

"Ita-"

"Mikoto?! Itachi?!"

"There's your father." Mrs. Uchiha said in a less than ecstatic voice.

"Aren't you going to answer him?" Itachi questioned suspiciously.

"Oh! Er...We're in the kitchen!" she called out to her husband.

A tall man appeared in the kitchen as soon as Mikoto breathed the last word of her sentence. He had dark black hair grown to the tops of his shoulders and pitch dark eyes. Genetic proof that he was indeed, an Uchiha.

"Hello." he greeted his wife.

"Hello Fugaku." Mikoto replied, keeping her back to her husband, pretending to be absorbed in making dinner.

"Itachi are you ready to go?

"Yes." was Itachi's stoic reply.

"Excellent. Hurry and put your schoolwork away in your room. I want to be at the station by 4:30."

Itachi quietly gathered his things and made his way out the kitchen and towards his room.

Mikoto raised her voice once her oldest son was out of earshot.

"Honestly Fugaku-"

"Mom?"

"Sasuke?" Mikoto called out.

Suddenly a young teenage boy walked into the kitchen. He wore jeans and a simple blue T-shirt bearing the Uchiha emblem.

"Hello father." the young boy forced the monotonous words out of his mouth and bowed as he _appropriately_ greeted his father.

"Hi mom." the boy greeted his mother in a much more relaxed tone.

"Hi sweetie." Mikoto greeted her youngest son with a warm embrace.

Fugaku gave his wife a stern look before leaving the kitchen to go wait for Itachi.

Upstairs Itachi had already finished putting away his things and was now changing into something akin to a police uniform.

He stared with intense disgust at his reflection in the mirror.

Itachi _hated_ police training.

* * *

Hitori furiously dug through the pile of clothes in her already messy closet.

Throwing yet another heap of disorganized clothing out of her way, she finally came across what she had spent the last fifteen minutes looking for.

Hitori triumphantly held up a white garment before her eyes. At long last she had found her sweater!

She sighed before hurriedly slipping it on over her slender figure and zipping it all the way up and throwing her warm-maple shoulder length hair into a messy ponytail.

Hitori was not happy to find that the red mark on her arm had turned a horrid shade of muave when she awoke that morning.

It didn't hurt too much unless she put pressure on it, but the blemish itself was enough to arouse suspicion at school.

For now this sweater would have to do.

_"You'd think I'd be used to this by now..."_

"Are you ready yet?!" came Tai's voice from down stairs.

"I'm coming!!" Hitori shouted from her place on the ground.

"HURRY UP!! It's almost time to go!"

"ALRIGHT ALREADY!! Geez..."

Hitori picked herself up off the floor and reached back into her closet. Carelessly she slung her backpack over her shoulder and began walking out of her room.

She hesitated suddenly before descending down the stairs.

_"Should I go back for them?..."_

Silently Hitori crept back to her room. She stealthily made her way to the night stand and rooted around for a few moments in one of its drawers.

Hitori carefully pulled out a small white jar and tucked it safely away in her backpack.

"I'M COMING!!" She shouted as she sped out of her room and down the stairs.

"So, how was training last night?" Kisame questioned his best friend as they strolled down the sidewalk to school.

"The same as usual. Why do you ask?"

"I don't know. You seem kind of tired this morning."

"I'm fine."

Kisame glanced at his friend. His years of friendship with the Uchiha had made him remarkably receptive to Itachi's otherwise "supressed" emotions. He knew about the situation between Itachi's parents and Kisame noticed that Itachi had grown much quieter since the ordeal had begun.

Though Itachi was already a normally quiet person Kisame could tell that his friend was bothered.

"...Alright, I guess. How are things at home?" Kisame ventured.

"...The same." Itachi responded as the two rounded a sidewalk corner.

"Hey Itachi!!" came a loud voice, completely changing the atmosphere.

"Here she comes." Kisame laughed.

Itachi turned around and, to his dismay, there was Sakura. Looking like a world renowned fashionista as always.

Decked out in a lacy camisole, light skin-tight sweater, and a suggestively short denim skirt, Sakura strutted her way over to Itachi and Kisame.

"How've you been Itachi?" She purred, wrapping him in a tight embrace.

"Fine." Itachi forced the gentle words out of his mouth trying to wriggle out of her grip.

"Really? Just fine? Is there something wrong Itachi-kun?" Sakura asked running her fingers through Itachi's hair.

From the corner of his eye, Itachi could see his so-called best friend nearly going insane with stifled laughter.

Itachi shot him a death glare but Kisame merely gave him a thumbs up and winked in response.

Itachi wasn't going to hear the end of it when lunch time came around.

Itachi grabbed Sakura's hand and gently moved it away from his face.

Suddenly the school looked so far away to Itachi now that Sakura had come, though in reality it lied just one block straight ahead.

He turned to his gaze to his snickering friend for assistance.

Kisame managed to gain his bearings and instantly came up with a plan.

"Say, Sakura I really like the color of that sweater you've got." Kisame smiled.

Sakura loved compliments. Compliments of any kind from anyone at anytime.

"How sweet of you!" Sakura chirped before going into deep explanation of how said sweater had been a Haruno heirloom, then continuing to explain how she had acquired every garment she was wearing while she was on the subject.

Soon enough the three of them had reached the school, Sakura happily rambling the entire time.

Itachi gave Kisame a grateful glance right before the first bell of the day rang.

**BRRIIINNG!!**

"Well I guess I better head to class now." Kisame said to Itachi giving him a reassuring wave.

"So do you want to walk to class together Itachi?" Sakura asked innocently once Kisame was out of sight.

"Whatever." Itachi sighed.

* * *

"So what's with the sweater? It's not even the least bit cold outside." Ketsueki asked pointing at Hitori's white sweater.

"Oh, well, you know, I have _really_ sensitive skin and stuff. I burn real easy on days like this." Hitori quickly lied as a nervous smile found its way across her lips.

"Well that's kind of weird, you've got pretty dark skin for someone who burns so easily." Ketsueki gestured to Hitori's bare legs which revealed her deep cinnamon complexion.

Hitori smiled hesitantly, frantically searching for something to say that would make sence.

It didn't exactly make perfect sence that she was wearing shorts that exposed her legs, when she was also wearing a sweater in order to "protect herself from the sun". The only reason Hitori was wearing it was to conceal the nasty bruise inflicted by her father just the other day. Though Tai had taken good care of her arm, it still hadn't completely healed.

Hitori had learned long ago that exposing your battle wounds in public led to questions, especially from teachers, which was definetly bad news for Hitori. Her father had forbidden the siblings from ever speaking a word to anyone about what went on in their household, though reluctantly and unwillingly, the siblings had complied to this "request" for their entire lives. Thankfully enough though, Ketsueki interupted Hitori's thoughts before she could say anything in response.

"Now this here, _this _is sensitive skin." Ketsueki joked pointing to her own skin.

In extreme contrast to Hitori's own skin tone, Ketsueki's skin was quite pale, yet elegantly so. Though she wasn't albino her skin boasted a soft silky cream color, contrasting beautifully with her long raven hair.

"I burn real easy too, I _hate _the damn sun, it's always burning everything!" Ketsueki continued in a grumble.

"Well what do you have for third period?" Hitori asked a bit calmer now trying to change the subject.

"Home Ec." the ebony haired girl replied somewhat sheepishly.

"_Home Ec.?_"

"I like to cook okay."

"Watch it! No worries! The only things I can cook are toast and cereal." Hitori joked, this time she was telling the truth.

Ketsueki smiled at this.

"Really? I-"

**BRRIIINNG!!**

"Guess I better go now." Ketsueki finished awkwardly.

"Yeah..." Hitori said quietly, dreading the thought of having yet another period without her only friend.

They exchanged "good-byes" and parted ways.

Hitori thought of the lies she had told Ketsueki just moments ago as she made her way to her art class. She hated lying to Ketsueki, or anybody for that matter, about her home life. But the truth of the matter was, Hitori just didn't know whether or not she could really trust Ketsueki. Hitori had her own reasons for not telling anybody that she was a victim of child abuse, but she just wasn't sure if she could trust Ketsueki with her secret. Most of the people she had told in the past threatened to go to a social worker if she didn't do something about her _problem_.

_"I feel like such a bitch lying to her like that...But I've only known her for two days..."_

Hitori sulked as she stopped in front of the door to her art class.

Room 287.

_At least I don't have to solve any equations in here... _

She pushed open the door and found herself a seat somewhere in the middle of the classroom. Years of experience had taught her that sitting in the middle of any classroom was the easiest way to go unnoticed by teachers and students alike.

Unfortunately this was not the case today, as the middle of this particular art classroom was home to a certain blonde and red headed pair of boys.

"If I've told you once, I've told you a million times, un!! There is no possible way that art is eternal!!"

Hitori fought the urge to cover her ears as a young blonde teenager bursted into the classroom and absent-mindedly took a seat right next to hers.

Almost immediately, a red headed teen, seemingly the blonde's accomplice, took the seat on the opposite side of Hitori. This boy, however, seemed to have a much calmer air about him.

"Sasori-danna are you listening to me?!"

"Yes Deidara, I hear you. Along with the rest of the entire classroom. However, I refuse to acknowledge you and your sick impressions of art until you lower your voice and calm down."

Deidara stared at Sasori blankly for a few moments.

"Oi! Did you hear what that guy just said to me, un?!" Deidara asked Hitori, jabbing her with his elbow.

"Um...I think he said he didn't want to talk to you until you, ya know, shut-up." Hitori replyed awkwardly.

"Alright kiddies class has begun!" came a young woman's voice from the back of the classroom. Strangely this wasn't the same teacher Hitori recalled seeing the day before.

"I know I'm not the same teacher you guys had yesterday, obviously yesterday's teacher was just a sub. I'm Anko Mitarashi for those of you who don't know me, your permanent art teacher for this year. There aren't too many rules in this class, except for the fact that I don't want any 'Miss Mitarashi' crap. Anko is fine, or Miss Anko if you insist. Other than that I'm not going to spend half the period talking about stupid rules like most of your other teachers did yesterday. We'll just learn the rules of this classroom as we go along, everybody okay with that?"

The class room seemed quite relaxed and responded positively to Anko's teaching methods.

"Oh, I almost forgot! For today we will be working on our free-hand technique. You may draw anything you like as long as it's not vulgar, provocative, or penis related, _Sai_."

A boy with creamy skin and jet black hair sulked silently in the corner of the room as his teacher spoke those words. Hitori's eyes nearly bugged out of her skull as she processed what her teacher had just said and then Sai's reaction to it.

Anko gave Sai a warning glance before finishing up. "Alright then, everybody get to work!"

Hitori shook her head in bewilderment. There was no possible way that she had met a teacher, or adult, quite like Anko.

Hitori definitely liked her though.

She was a bit loud mouthed and fairly easy-going, not to mention she easily controlled the class by giving the kids their freedom rather then by restricting it or taking it completely away like most teachers tended to do.

Hitori continued to swim in her thoughts as she stared at the white sheet of paper that had been passed out to her. She didn't usually draw, but there wasn't a doubt in her mind that this would be yet another thing that she would suck at.

"Hey, new girl, what are you going to draw, un?" Deidara asked her curiously, pointing at her blank sheet of paper.

"Um-"

"Shut-up Deidara. She wasn't talking to you so stop bothering her." Sasori scolded in an almost monotonous tone.

"It's okay, he wasn't bothering me." Hitori smiled.

"Not yet at least." Sasori replied with a smirk.

Deidara glared at Sasori.

"Anyway, I'm Deidara, un. What's your name?" he asked Hitori curiously.

"I'm Hitori," she replied a bit awkwardly. "I'm new, I just moved here from Kumo'."

"Yeah? That's pretty neat, un. Say, what do you think about art Hitori?" Deidara asked with a twinkle in his eye. "Wouldn't you say that it's something beautiful that lasts for just a few moments before quickly dissapearing? I mean nothing good lasts forever right?"

"Uh, well, sure it is. Art is, um, it's sophisticated." Hitori replied best as she could, she had no idea how to answer Deidara's question.

It seemed she gave the right answer though because Deidara bursted into a wide ecstatic grin.

"Hey Sasori!" he called to his friend just on the other side of Hitori's seat. "This is Hitori, she's new here, un."

"Yes Deidara, I'm right here, I heard everything." Sasori answered quite annoyed with his friend.

"I'm Sasori, nice to meet you." he turned and greeted Hitori, formally shaking her hand.

"Yeah and she thinks art is a bang just like me! Did you hear that part too, un?" he smirked happily.

Though caught in the middle of the two bickering boys, Hitori felt a bit more relaxed and even somewhat accepted by the two animated artists. Even finding it a bit entertaining to listen to the two boys' heated "discussion" about the true meaning of art.

* * *

"God P.E. was killer today." Ketsueki moaned as she and Hitori made their way to biology class.

"Tell me about it. Gai sensei just weirds me out...Power of youth my ass."

Ketsueki laughed. "Yeah, but I gotta admit, he's much more fun than all the other teachers here."

"I guess you got me on that one."

Both girls laughed all the way into class where they took their seats and awaited Orochimaru sensei's instructions.

"Hey there's Itachi again." Ketsueki whispered to Hitori, gesturing to the two boys in front of them.

"Whatever. I'm just gonna ignore the damn smart-ass."

"Itachi is _not_ a smart-ass." Sakura interupted loud enough for half the class to hear her.

Immediately Itachi turned around.

"Oh, hi Itachi, this _girl_ here was just insulting you."

Itachi shot Hitori yet another death glare.

"Well you know what? You should just stay out of other people's conversations, you damn eavesdropper. Goddamn, you act like I'm trying to friggin trying to steal your boyfriend or something!"

"How many times do I have to tell you Sakura is not my girlfriend." Itachi seethed at Hitori.

"Would at least one of you get your story straight?! Are you in denial or something?"

"What the hell is your problem?" Itachi spat. "Your're the one who started all of this."

By now Itachi was so livid the entire classroom had fallen silent. Itachi Uchiha never showed petty emotions like anger in public. But the two of them kept going at it until Orochimaru decided to step into his classroom.

"Me? I am not the one who started all of this. That would be your girlfriend."

"She isn't my girlfriend."

"Well if she _is _your girlfriend, I'd keep her on a short leash if I were you." Hitori jeered.

"Enough!" Orochimaru's voice pierced the air.

Immediately Hitori and Itachi both fell silent.

"It appears as if the two of you don't get along." He hissed smoothly, making the hairs on the nape of most everyone's neck stand up.

"Kisame," he said gently.

"Yes sensei?" Kisame answered awkwardly.

"Switch seats with Hitori."

"Erm...okay."

Kisame silently gathered his backpack in his arms and took the seat next to Ketsueki. Ketsueki took in Kisame's presence and gave her friend a sad look.

"Hitori,"

"Yes?" she turned to her sensei.

"Have a seat." he said in a frighteningly gentle tone.

"Hitori stared incredulously at Kisame's old seat, then turned her gaze to her sensei once again.

Orochimaru merely looked at her expectantly. Without another word, Hitori picked up her things and quietly sat down next to Itachi, who was still glaring at her.

Every student in the classroom was completely still as Orochimaru sensei made his way to the front of the table Hitori and Itachi were seated at.

"Perhaps the both of you will get along better this way." his icy voice penetrated the air.

"Like I said yesterday, I will not tolerate any insolant behavior. Not off to a good start this year, are we Mr. Uchiha?" Orochimaru hissed as he turned to make his way to the white board.

Hitori could feel Itachi burning a hole in her side with his venomous gaze.

BANG!

"You damn bitch, how many times have I told you to stay out of my way when I come home from work!?"

BANG!

"I'm sorry Akunen!! But you-

BANG!

"told me to clean up the kitchen-"

BANG!

"before you came home!! AAaah!! Please stop!"

"Disrespectful bitch, don't you ever try to tell me what to do!!"

Akunen Hastuyume heaved the wooden chair in his hands and crashed it down on his daughter one last time before she managed to take to her heels and run away from him.

Blood lay in small puddles on the kitchen floor and yet another pile of broken glass glinted on the floor. Akunen cursed under his breath and turned to leave the kitchen.

Upstairs Hitori had made it to her room, but was still bleeding quite a bit. Her brother had not come home yet and she wasn't sure what time he would return.

She peeled off her blood stained white sweater and flung it away aimlessly. She tryed her best to wipe off the remaining blood on her body but completely forgot about applying a bandage in her state of fear.

With that done, she searched through her backpack until she had found the small white jar she had hid in it that morning.

Completely ignoring the overdose precautions on the jar, she tapped seven pills into the palm of her hand.

With a practiced swiftness she forced every single pill down her throat and took a tiny sip of water from the cup on her nightstand.

She lay down on her bed and screwed her eyes shut, not even bothering to cover herself with a blanket, not even caring about the blood that was spilling over her arm and soaking her bed.

Patiently, she waited for nothingness to take over.


	3. The Dreaded Announcement part 1

Uchiha Sasuke quietly plodded down the stairs of his home.

Cool. Calm. Nonchalant.

Anyone that would have happened to see him would have easily bought the calm expression on Sasuke's face; a convenient mask that effectively hid the current torment he was undergoing.

As Sasuke reached the bottom of the staircase a feeling of mild dismay crept over his body.

The argument raging in his parent's bedroom was still audible from the first floor.

"Mikoto...'ime...them...grow up!...are you...'alking about?!...'ust listen...yourself!"

Even though bits and pieces of it were difficult to hear, Sasuke could understand the gist of what his parents were arguing about.

Both him and his brother.

This was what had driven Sasuke out of his room and down the stairs in the first place.

But what bothered Sasuke more than the fact that his parents argued a lot was that they argued a lot about him.

_"Why now?"_ Sasuke asked himself as he absentmindedly took a seat on the bottom stoops of the staircase. _"Why argue about us?" _

Now Sasuke was not what someone would call faint of heart. He was normally a very solitary person, independent by nature, and rarely affected by emotional predicaments.

In essence much like his older brother.

However exactly three weeks had gone by since the Uchiha parents had begun arguing with each other.

The voices of his parents echoed throughout the entire household.

For as long as Sasuke could remember, his parents had always gotten along all right. His mother played the role of the loving and care-giving parent and his father had always been more disciplinary with the boys.

They made quite the complementary team in Sasuke's eyes.

Sasuke might not have noticed it, it was more of a subconscious thing really, but his parent's arguments were beginning to take their toll on him.

He found himself quite irritable at times, for seemingly no apparent reason at all, and at times he couldn't get a good nights sleep just thinking about all that was changing within the household.

But more than anything Sasuke found himself just wandering around the house a lot.

Trying anything and everything to just to get away from the sound of his parents' angry voices.

_"What did we do?" _Sasuke couldn't help but ask himself.

Sasuke's brow furrowed as he thought to himself. Suddenly he lifted his head and looked up.

Through the window in the main hall he could see his brother Itachi seated outside on the patio.

Alone as always.

Most likely thinking again.

Solace was not a word Sasuke associated with his brother. There was always some sort of tension between the two even though they were brothers.

If ever Sasuke had a problem, his mother was usually the one he sought comfort from.

But what was he to do now?

His mother was the _reason _he needed comfort this time.

"Stop it! Stop it Fugaku! I don't want to hear anymore of this!" Mikoto suddenly shouted loud enough to be heard from outside.

Without another thought Sasuke immediately got up from his place on the stairs and made his way to the front door.

The air was cool outside.

A comforting breeze tussled the many different colored leaves of the autumn trees, making them dance along the street just in front of the Uchiha home. Itachi watched them, but with little interest.

His mind was other places.

Just like his brother, Itachi was well aware of the ongoing argument inside the house. He made sure to come outside where it would be most difficult to hear the argument.

Itachi knew he could not prevent his parents from fighting, but he also knew he didn't _have_ to listen to them fight either.

The soft breeze picked up again and Itachi continued to ponder over his parents' recent behavior.

Over the three weeks they had been fighting for, their arguments had grown considerably worse.

Suddenly Itachi paused his thinking.

"Do you need anything Sasuke?" Itachi asked gently, not needing to turn around to know his brother was there.

"What makes you think I want anything?" Sasuke retorted pridefully.

Itachi smiled at his little brother's childish remark.

"Well, you've been standing there for over three minutes and you haven't said a word...Is there something you want to ask me?"

Sasuke remained silent, staring at the floor as could not think of anything to say.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

"Would...'isten...one second?!...'ust listen!!"

Fragments of the argument inside the house could be heard on the wind. Sasuke looked away from his brother.

Itachi finally turned around to find his brother slouching against the wall near the swing, hands in his pockets, a far away look in his eyes.

"Does it bother you?" Itachi asked quietly.

Sasuke shrugged, keeping his faraway gaze.

"Does it bother you?" he questioned back.

A long silence ensued after that, only to be interrupted by occasional bits of argument that could be heard outside.

"...Sometimes." Itachi finally answered truthfully, meeting his brother's gaze.

He scooted toward the end of the porch he was sitting on and gestured for Sasuke to come fill the empty space he had created.

With little persuasion Sasuke sat himself beside his brother on the swing porch, surprised and even a little happy that his brother wasn't acting so distant for once.

An awkward silence followed after Sasuke sat down.

It wasn't exactly everyday the Uchiha brothers sat down together and poured their feelings out to one another.

"Do-...Do you think they'll stop soon?" Sasuke asked quietly.

"It's hard to tell..." Itachi answered bluntly. "They've been at it for almost a month."

"Yeah..." Sasuke trailed off.

Itachi didn't want to admit it, not to Sasuke, but he could process more of the situation than Sasuke could. And every time he thought about it, all the evidence always amounted up to one thing.

Divorce.

"It bothers me the most that they argue about _us_." Sasuke confessed. "Did we do something?" he couldn't help but ask.

"It's not just us...don't worry about it Sasuke...trust me, it's not you..." Itachi assured him awkwardly.

Sasuke gave his brother a strange look but Itachi only nodded, then looked away and Sasuke knew the conversation was over.

Itachi resumed staring at the autumn trees around the neighborhood and Sasuke did his best to trigger another conversation from his brother.

Despite his brother's attempts to make him speak, Itachi remained adamant about remaining silent.

Somehow, somewhere in the deepest recesses of his subconscious mind, Itachi couldn't help but feel he was the cause of his parents' arguments.

* * *

"Hitori?"

"..."

"Hitori? Are you asleep?"

"..."

"Hitori?!"

"..."

"Hitori?! HEY!!"

Dropping his backpack to the floor, Tai quickly marched over to his sister's listless body after he got no reply for the fourth time.

After evading various piles of clothes and other thrown about objects Tai reached his sister's bed and began shaking her awake.

"Hitori? Hitori can you hear me?! Wake up!!"

Tai shook his sister violently but she might as well have been dead. If anyone else had tried to wake Hitori, they would have begun panicking by now, but years of experience had taught Tai otherwise.

"Goddamn Hitori..." Tai muttered as he checked her wrist for a pulse.

_"Still breathing...heart sounds good...no fever?" _Tai thought to himself as he lifted his hand from his sister's forehead.

"He didn't do anything to you did he?" Tai asked his sister's still figure.

"Maybe some alcohol will wake you-Ah!! What the-"

Tai's eyes fell to the small object on the ground he had almost tripped on.

_"What the hell?" _he picked up a small white jar from the floor and his eyes grew wide with shock as realization came over him. He shot a death glare at his sleeping sister while shaking his head in disapproval.

"Come on Hitori, let's not start this again."

He sighed and stashed the jar away into his jacket pocket. They would talk later, but for now Hitori needed to wake up.

With quick long strides Tai raced to his room and into his closet where he extracted a bottle of alcohol, a large cup, and towel.

He filled the cup with ice-cold water from the sink in his bathroom and hurried back into Hitori's room to wake her.

_"You're going to hate me for doing this..." _Tai thought as he placed all his items on the nightstand near the bed and took the cup of water in his hand. _"But it's for your own good."_

Without another word, he put an incredible amount of pressure on Hitori's temple with his fore finger and thumb and flung every drop of cold water onto her face.

"WAKE UP!!" he shouted in her ear.

"Mmmnn...uuughhh?" Hitori's face scrunched up in discomfort and she finally fluttered her eyes open with much difficulty.

"Come on, wake up. That's it, open your eyes, hun." Tai coaxed, gently lifting his sister into an upright position and propping her up with a pillow.

"...Tai?" Hitori called out in voice that was just barely audible.

Everything was spinning and blurry, Hitori could hardly see straight, if at all. With the strength it takes to move mountains, Hitori turned on her side and got some movement in her arm, lifting it to hold her swimming head.

"Hitori are you al-oh my god!"

As Hitori had rolled over on her side, all the dried blood that had leaked from her arm had been revealed.

Her bed was stained to the sheets and her entire arm was colored crimson. Suddenly she could feel her hands being wrapped around something.

"Here, take this and put it to your nose. I'll be right back." Tai's voice trailed off into the distance.

Hitori could barely process what was happening, but she instinctively put the bottle to her nose and took in the powerful scent of the alcohol.

"Oh, god..." Hitori breathed, forgetting how strong the alcohol was.

"Ok, I'm back." Tai cried in a hurried tone as he came back into the room.

This time he carried some antiseptic and a long bandage.

"Tai?" Hitori called out in a stronger voice this time.

Everything was still a little blurry but at least the room had stopped spinning.

"Shush! Don't talk right now, just keep using the alcohol...Here let me see you arm."

With the most tender of movements Tai lifted his sister's blood encrusted arm and began to clean it off with antiseptic.

Hitori suddenly began to blink violently, suddenly everything was becoming clear again.

"Are you coming to?" Tai asked softly, busily cleaning the red blood off her arm.

"Uh-huh...I can see ok now...Tai?"

"Yeah?"

"How come I'm all wet?"

"Well," Tai paused thinking of how to craft his answer. "You wouldn't wake up," he explained. "I didn't know what else to do...Mind telling me why you were so _tired_?"

Listening to that statement from her brother, Hitori suddenly snapped to attention.

"Oh, well, you know, schoo-AAHH!!"

"Calm down, it's just antiseptic-"

"It burns!!"

"Well yeah, I have to clean your cut. You were saying..."

"...Ssss, ow...oh, yeah. School was a killer today...and plus when I got home..."

"I see." Tai said finishing wrapping up Hitori's arm in the bandage.

"That better?"

"Yeah, thanks." Hitori said, moving her arm around trying to test the extent of movement it could take.

Silence followed. Tai contemplating how to bring up the issue of the pills and Hitori convinced her brother knew everything.

"I got an idea." Tai said suddenly. "Let's you and me go for a walk."

"A walk? But won't Aku-"

"Forget about it. Let's get outta here. I saw a park, not to far from here on our way to school the other day, we can go there. We'll take care of your sheets when we get back."

Hitori looked down at her blood soaked sheets. She did hate doing the laundry.

"Alright." She smiled.

* * *

"Lemme borrow your jacket." was the first thing Hitori said as the two siblings got outside the house without being detected by their father.

"Why, you cold?" Tai asked slowly, palming the jar of pills in his pocket.

"Well, that too." Hitori replied, looking down at her newly bandaged arm.

Tai didn't answer his sister for a while as they journeyed down the block of their new home. This wasn't going according to plan. Tai frantically tried to think of a solution.

"Are you really that cold?"

"Yes!" Hitori whined quite loudly.

One glimpse of his sister's shivers and Tai made up his mind.

"All right, here." he gave in with a smile.

Hitori's face lit up with glee as she slipped into her big brother's black and red jacket.

It was much too big for her figure but that was what she loved best about the jacket.

It was weird, at least to Tai it was, but Hitori had a strange love of wearing garments that belonged to him.

Tai could only roll his eyes playfully as he watched his sister, waiting for his new plan to fall into place.

"Oh my god." Hitori breathed suddenly as they continued walking.

"What's wrong?" Tai asked confused.

"He? Uchiha-...lives here?"

"What?" Tai looked up to see just what his sister was talking about.

Sure enough, from the standing point of the Hatsuyume siblings, the figures of two boys could easily be seen sitting on the front patio of the house up ahead.

Besides having strikingly similar physical features, both boys seemed to be upset about something.

"Who's that?" Tai asked curiously as they came closer to the boys' house.

"You forgot!" Hitori scolded through her teeth. "That's the kid from my biology class!"

"Really?" he asked with an overly interested tone of voice.

"Shut-up, they're right-"

"Hello!!" Tai called out in a warm greeting. He extended his arm all the way out and waved. "Lovely evening isn't it?"

The two boys on the patio exchanged looks and Hitori's eyes bulged out at her daring brother.

She turned her head away but not before her eyes met those of the boy who looked oldest.

He seemed to be mocking her with his gaze.

"Have a good one." Tai called out with a smile before the two boys were out of sight.

* * *

­­­­­­­Sasuke's eyes followed the slowly disappearing figures of Tai and Hitori. He turned to his brother in confusion.

"Who was that?" he questioned, eyes still trained on the siblings.

Itachi's eyes also followed the strange people.

_"What a coincidence..." _he thought to himself while shaking his head.

Both Uchiha brothers turned to look at each other.

Itachi looked his brother right in the eye and said: "You **don't **want to know."

* * *

"Wheeeeeew. Tough crowd." Tai whistled after the two Uchiha brothers were out of sight and earshot.

Hitori held the bridge of her nose in her good hand.

"I can't believe you did that..." was all she could say.

"What? I was just being neighborly." Tai defended, closely watching Hitori's hands.

"Whatever." she smiled, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her brother's jacket.

_"Five, four, three..."_ Tai began to count down in his head.

Suddenly Hitori's cheerful expression turned into a confused frown. Then she stopped in her tracks all together.

_"Two, one."_

"Care to explain baby sister?" Tai asked casually.

He knew perfectly well that Hitori was palming the pills in her own hand as he spoke.

"Huh, explain what?" Hitori said with a slight waver in her voice.

"The pills that I discovered in your room, that are now in the pocket of my jacket. You know, the ones you're holding right now."

Hitori cursed at herself for leaving evidence out in the open. She cast her eyes to the ground and said nothing to her brother in return.

For awhile, the two walked together with out so much as a single word to each other.

And it wasn't until they finally reached the park that Tai finally broke the silence with his sister.

"How many did you take?" he softly sighed, trying to catch his sister's gaze.

"...A couple..." Hitori answered meekly as she made her way to the park swings and took a seat on one.

"How many is that?" Tai raised an eyebrow while also taking a swing for himself.

"...I don't know," Hitori replied in small voice. "Five or six...maybe seven...I don't remember..."

"...Why?"

Hitori looked up from the ground and caught her brother's gaze.

Her heart nearly melted when she saw his face.

He wore an expression comprised of absolute and utmost pain, solemn face gazing at her, waiting for an answer. His eyes were serious, yet she could still see signs of hurt reflected in them.

It took a lot of will power not to burst out crying right there and then.

"I'm sorry!" Hitori cried out, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean-I couldn't help it!! He was just so horrible and-and, it just makes everything go away! Please-...please don't be mad at me..."

Hitori looked away again, gripping the swing's chains tightly in a fit of frustration.

Tai sighed, "There's other ways you know. Pills aren't what you should be using to help you cope with things."

"_What do you want me to do?_" Hitori blurted. "We've been dealing with this all our lives! You think we'd be used to it by now but it only gets worse as we get older!"

"Sshhh!" Tai whispered gently trying to get his sister to calm down. "Calm down, calm down. People are starting to look."

Hitori looked up to see that people were indeed beginning to watch.

Children paused in their games to watch the people on the swings. Even a few adults had been distracted from watching their kids and had turned their attention to Hitori and Tai.

Hitori heaved a great sigh and closed her mouth for what seemed like for good. After a few moments of silence, the park goers turned their attention to their own devices again.

"Come on," Tai said in an encouraging voice. "Maybe-"

"Why can't we just leave already?" she interrupted. "Why can't we just get up and leave right now like we always planned?"

"Oh boy..." Tai sighed. "Huh...Hitori _you know _we can't do that..."

"Why not-"

Tai got up and softly placed his hand over Hitori's mouth, knelt down so that the two of them were on eye level.

"Listen to me." he said quietly but softly, a new serious look on his face. "You know we can't do that. I haven't found a job in this new place yet, but when I do, I can tell you for a fact, it's not going to pay enough to keep a teen and an eighteen year old alive."

"But-"

Tai reinforced the pressure of his hand.

"Hitori, you _need _to finish high school. If we took off together I'd be cheating you out of an education and I'm telling you right now, you won't get anywhere without one."

Hitori let out a defeated sigh and Tai removed his hand from her mouth. The autumn breezes were beginning to pick up again as the sun began to set on Konohagakure.

"I know it's hard." Tai soothed in a brotherly way while helping his sister off the swing. "But we can't leave just yet. Not 'till you at least finish high school. If you're having a hard time just come find me. Ok?"

In her heart of hearts, Hitori knew her brother had a good point about the situation, but she still couldn't help but shudder at the thought of having to live with that horrible man for at least two more years.

In the end, she conceded to her big brother's levelheaded plan as they began to walk out of the park and head back "home".

"Ok..." she huffed heavily.

"Good." Tai said shortly, "Now hand over that jar."

Without protest Hitori reached into the pocket of her brother's jacket, pulled out the jar of pills, and handed it to him.

He placed them in the pocket of his jeans and they continued walking back the way they came as the sky became darker and darker.

"I'll see about getting you another notebook." Tai said nonchalantly after they had walked a few blocks, trying to lift the depressing atmosphere.

Hitori's eyes lit up at this and her gloomy mood more or less dissipated for the time being as she flung her arms around her big brother's neck.

* * *

"So, how has your day been so far?" asked a very chipper Sakura the next day, she was currently very happy to be attached to Itachi's arm.

"Long, actually." replied Itachi, eyeing their linked arms with an expression that was nothing short of annoyance.

"Really? Is it because you've spent all day thinking about me?" purred Sakura as she pushed herself even closer into Itachi's chest.

"You could say it was something like that," Kisame remarked jokingly as the three students approached their last class of the school day.

The three of them marched down the hallway side by side.

Kisame on Itachi's left side, and Sakura on his close right.

They were moving at an undesirable slow pace, as Sakura was apparently oblivious to the delay she was causing by leaning on Itachi's arm.

By leaning on Itachi, Sakura was causing quite the traffic-jam in the crowded hall.

"Aw, is that really true Itachi darling?" giggled Sakura bumping into yet another person.

"To an extent." Itachi replied shortly, thinking of all the times he pictured what life would be like without her.

Kisame was going wild with snickers as usual.

At last, after shoving through the endless crowds of students, the three of them could see their destination just yards away.

"Ugh…" Sakura suddenly piped up. "Look who it is." She gave a disgusted sigh as she pointed out the new girl.

Hitori was just about to enter the classroom as well, however she had hesitated as she heard the rude comment Sakura had made.

Hitori turned around and she and Sakura met eyes.

Sakura glared for a second, then, as if all of a sudden thinking of a better idea, she batted her long eyelashes, pulled Itachi close to her chest (which caused him to grimace), and continued into the classroom with her best runway walk, as if to say: "I am so much **better **than you. Not to mention **prettier**."

Hitori looked after her and rolled her eyes before going into the classroom herself, Ketsueki following close behind.

**BRRIIINNG!!**

"What a bitch." She managed to whisper to Hitori before they split up to find their seats.

Hitori took her new seat next to Itachi.

They said nothing to each other although both of them recalled seeing each other the previous evening.

"Good afternoon class." Orochimaru sensei greeted the class in his usual formal yet frightening way.

He proceeded to explain that the class would be studying the human body and its functions for a good portion, if not, the whole school year.

A few daring individuals moaned in disgust.

"Now there will be no whining!" Orochimaru barked, or rather, hissed. "For those of you who have heard that the study of the human body is one of the most difficult forms of biology, congratulations. You've heard correct."

Orochimaru sensei continued to smirk, "but don't worry. This class will start off slow enough. We'll begin with worksheets and such, then work our way up to labs and dissections, and eventually begin more complex detailed studies. Today is a lucky day, because all you have to do is…"

The class seemed to perk up a little as Orochimaru sensei trailed off and reached below his desk for something.

Suddenly Orochimaru reappeared from behind his desk and heaved an incredibly large stack of papers on top of it.

"Ten pages of bookwork before the period is over." The sensei smiled.

Everyone in the class sulked visibly but no one dared to say a word in protest.

"Now then everyone come and get a worksheet packet and get to work. All I want to hear is the sound of pencils on paper understood?"

In just a few short minutes everyone had gotten a packet and began to work.

It didn't take very long before Hitori ran into a question she didn't understand. She skipped it, but then ran into a series of complicated word problems.

She sighed and glanced over at Itachi.

He was working quickly as always, already on the last few problems of the second page.

"_How does he work so fast?" _she wondered to herself.

Suddenly Itachi caught sight of her gaze. He glared at her and covered his paper as best he could with his arm.

Hitori rolled her eyes, _"Oh my god. I wasn't even doing anything like that. Geez, I know I'm not that smart but I wouldn't copy off his paper." _

Hitori sighed again and got back to work.

At the end of the period, when the class had turned in their worksheets, Orochimaru gave a small but crucial announcement.

"Now you all know what we will be studying in this class and more or less what to expect as far as work goes. However there is something that I haven't told you yet."

The class was quiet and especially attentive.

Orochimaru sensei held up his pointer finger in the air, "there is only one project that this class will be conducting for the entire year."

Some students quietly cheered and smiles broke out on many faces.

"However," Orochimaru continued while eyeing the clock on the wall. "This project will count for over a quarter of your grade."

Most of the smiles disappeared.

"More about this project will be revealed in due time. However I will express that work on this project will begin sooner than you can imagine and-"

**BRRIIINNG!!**

"Partners will be decided tomorrow." Orochimaru smiled almost wickedly. "Have a nice day class."

The students began to pack up and issue out of the classroom, Hitori slipped on her backpack with a practiced fluid motion and began to inch her way out from the table she was seated at but Itachi stood in her way.

"What?" she questioned sharply.

"The next time I catch you doing something like that, I won't hesitate to do something about it."

Hitori leered at Itachi and he returned the gaze before turning to leave.

"What are you gonna do? Tell your mommy?" she jeered just loud enough to be audible.

Itachi turned around to confront her, but Hitori was already walking out the door.

* * *

"Again."

"Hi-yah!"

"Again."

"Hi-yah!"

"Again!"

"Hi-yah!!"

"Again Itachi! This time with force!"

**CRRAAACCKK!!**

The wooden target Itachi had been training with split in two as he executed one last powerful kick.

"Excellent work Itachi. It took a little more effort than I expected, but you met today's requirement."

Itachi stood in the middle of the Police Department's dojo, surrounded by broken pieces of wood.

He was sweating profusely and his breaths came in labored pants.

Well trained as he was, Itachi could only pull off so many roundhouse kicks.

His father had never been one to go easy on him when it came to police training, but even so, Fugaku had been absolutely ruthless lately.

Itachi had been exerting himself so much recently, that, he had to resort to taking off his shirt just to keep from overheating.

"Alright Itachi, let's take it from the top once more. Then we'll review everything we've done today.

Still panting Itachi caught his father's gaze and just stared.

He didn't say a word, but his eyes communicated all the exhaustion he was feeling to his father.

"…I suppose a small break would be a good idea." Fugaku said slowly.

"Thank you." Itachi breathed with relief, turning to leave the dojo.

"You have ten minutes!" His father called after him.

Itachi sighed as he left his father in the training room.

He only had ten minutes.

Thirty minutes would really be ideal, even fifteen would be better than ten.

"_Whatever…" _Itachi thought to himself as his breathing began to even out. _"It's better than the usual five…"_

Presently Itachi found himself inside the office of Konoha's Police Department.

It was a room of decent size, used as a waiting room for people who came in with personal requests or complaints.

It was hardly ever used though, since the administration office had been remodeled to fit more people. Itachi would remain safe and uninterrupted here.

It wasn't much different than any other sort of waiting room, containing several chairs, a table stacked with various magazines, a water dispenser much like those seen inside offices, a window through which people were helped, and maybe a plastic floral arrangement here and there for decorative purposes.

Itachi poured himself a cup of cold water and sat down on one of the chairs.

Unlike the other trainees who took their breaks in the locker room, Itachi preferred the quiet comfort of the waiting room.

He liked the quiet atmosphere; it made it easier to think.

Now without his father breathing down his neck, Itachi let his mind wander as he took slow sips of his water.

His mind subconsciously thought back to that evening before he left for training.

"_Who's that?"_

"_You __**don't **__want to know."_

"_That girl…" _Itachi recalled. _"That new girl from school…what was she doing there?"_

Itachi quietly finished the rest of his water and got up to refill his cup while continuing to ponder.

"_Wait." _Itachi's brow furrowed in deep thought.

Slowly the pieces of the puzzle all began to fit together in his mind.

"_I hear the man that's moved into that house has a pretty daughter about your age."_

"_That's right…" _Itachi thought.

"_Maybe the two of you could get to know each other…"_

"Of course…" Itachi said to himself.

The empty house up the street, his mother's remarks, everything added up now.

Hitori had moved into the empty house up the street and was now going to the same school Itachi was.

"What a pain." Itachi said to himself.

"What's a pain?" came Sakura's voice suddenly.

Itachi looked up and met her gleaming eyes.

"Nothing." Itachi said nonchalantly, somewhat irritated that she had showed up to practice, although she always did.

Sakura's eyes seemed to sparkle with an even brighter brilliance at sight of Itachi being shirtless.

"So how's practice going?" she asked smoothly, pulling up a chair next to him and taking the initiative to lay her head "innocently" on his shoulder.

Itachi let her be, he couldn't risk snubbing her or hurting her feelings in any way if his father was around.

"The same as always, although I did break the target today." Itachi replied stoically, then added politely: "How is your training going?"

Itachi couldn't tell if Sakura was more excited that he wasn't wearing a shirt or that he was actually "concerned" with how her day was going.

"Oh I just know that's not the first target you've broken," she said in a low voice, tracing up and down Itachi's bare arm with her fingers. "Today's lesson was about CPR and revival tactics."

"Really?" Itachi asked, trying to sound interested.

"Mmhm. I can show you something I learned if you'd like." She offered, batting her lashes and inching closer to him.

"That's alright." Itachi said scooting away from her.

"Oh but it's really very interesting-"

"What do you think about that project Orochimaru sensei was telling us about today?" Itachi cut her off.

Though Sakura was quite an intelligent girl, she was very easily distracted by a change of topic.

"Oh I know!" she exclaimed. "I just can't help but wonder what kind of project it will be."

"Something involving strenuous amounts of research no doubt." Itachi stated, relieved that he had avoided unnecessary physical contact.

"He said that we'd be assigned partners tomorrow though remember? Wouldn't it be wonderful if we were able to choose who want to work with?" she said suggestively.

"That's very unlikely to happen considering the teacher we have." Itachi said bluntly. "We will most likely be assigned partners."

"In that case," Sakura wrapped her arms around Itachi's neck, "I hope he pairs _us_ up together."

"We'll see." Itachi said indifferently, trying and failing to pull away from her grasp.

"Oh! You know what would be really funny?" Sakura snickered suddenly.

"What?" Itachi asked not faintly interested.

"If you were to be paired up with that new girl for the project!"

Itachi nearly let out a snicker himself as Sakura made herself sick with giggles.

"That would be a joke," Itachi agreed. "But not a funny one."

"Oh god," Sakura said nearly in tears. "She's such a nobody it's hilarious!"

Although Itachi agreed with Sakura on Hitori being a hopeless cause, he couldn't help but break his newfound knowledge to her.

"Sakura?"

"Yes?" she asked still giggling and wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Do you remember that empty house up the street from mine?"

"The one I begged daddy to move into to be closer to you? Yeah, I remember."

"Well I think I've finally figured out who moved into it."

"Really? Who?"

"I'll give you one guess," he smirked snidely.

Sakura gave Itachi a strange look until her brain finally clicked and put two and two together.

An angry expression came over Sakura's face, but before she could say anything she was interrupted.

"Well, well. What have we here?"

"Konnichiwa Fugaku-san." Sakura immediately got up to bow in respect.

"Konnichiwa Sakura." Fugaku smiled. "How is your paramedical training going?"

Itachi nearly rolled his eyes in disgust.

"It's going quite well thank you. I was just going to show Itachi some of the things I learned."

"Isn't that cute." He said with actual sincerity. "Well I'll leave you two to chat alone then. Itachi, we're going to resume practice in about half an hour."

With that Fugaku Uchiha turned and left.

Itachi knew exactly why his father had come in, in the first place. He was going to tell him that he had had long enough to rest and that it was time to get back to practice because it was getting late.

However that didn't happen because Sakura had been there.

How funny, Itachi thought, that he was only given a decent amount of time to rest when Sakura was visiting, not because he could actually use the break to rest and recover.

Most of all though, Itachi absolutely hated the fact that out of all the people in the world, his father was the biggest supporter of a relationship between him and Sakura.


	4. an

**a/n**

**First and foremost I want to apologize to all my reviewers for not updating for so long!!! I'm still here and alive and trying my best to update!!! Ok so I did some major remodifying on this story, I went back and added alot of things to every chapter I've posted so far. I really felt that I had not written enough and that the story was moving a bit too quickly. So I went back and added alot of things that I felt added depth to the plot and characters. I also noticed that I failed to phyically describe the OCs in the story i.e. Hitori and Ketsueki, so I fixed that up too. I did quite a bit of work and it would be greatly appreciated if you, my lovely reader, took the time to simply read over my modifications. Secondly, I promise promise promise this is the last time I change the title of this story! DX I am currently working on chapter 4 of this story and I'm really sorry to those of you who have been long awaiting an update! I promise to update soon!!!!!!!!! **

**-takemewithyou**

**p.s. Im sorry if any of the Akatsuki characters seem of of character even though this is an AU story. I tried to take into account that this is set in a high school environment and that all characters are at a much younger age in this fic, which, to me, affects how a character would normally behave. Again I'm reeeeeeeaaaaally sorry for not updating in so long. I have big plans for this story but unfortunately I don't always have time to devote to my story. I definetly have a goal of carrying this story all the way through until the end!!! I love and appreciate all my reviews and I'm sorry guys!! Please be patient with me!!!!!! X(**

**Disclaimer: all Naruto characters are the property of their respective owner Masashi Kishimoto. Ketsueki the OC is the property of the fanfic author Jashinndamnit.**


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